WannaCry Locked Down Australian Traffic Cameras, Caused Voided Citations

Do you think that ransomware attacks only affect personal computers and business systems? Think again — the recent widespread infections caused by the WannaCry ransomware touched more than just hospitals in the UK and unpatched Windows PCs. In the Australian state of Victoria, hundreds of traffic cameras, meant to enforce speed limits, were knocked offline after the malware infected the system. Instead of encrypting data for ransom, the system instead became locked in a continuous cycle of rebooting.

Because of the infection, police in Victoria announced that they would …

Ransomware on the Rise: What Should You Know?

After the massive outbreak of the WannaCry malware that took down hospitals in the UK and spread around the world, we knew it was only a matter of time before similar attacks took place. With the recent outbreak of new ransomware, dubbed Petya, affecting computers in Ukraine and spreading to other countries, it’s a good time to take a step back and look at some hard facts about ransomware. What do Mac users need to know about this rising threat?

Who does ransomware affect?

Windows users are the ones who …

Apple Announces Transition to New File System at WWDC

Last year, Apple announced that it was in the final stages of development for a new file system to replace the current architecture, which has begun showing its age. At this year’s WWDC, one of Apple’s major announcements was that this new “Apple File System” (or APFS) is finally ready. It’s coming to users soon with the release of macOS High Sierra, and it brings with it a host of improvements in both performance and security.

On the performance side, we can expect to see much faster disk …

Malware from Compromised Handbrake Servers Leads to Stolen Source Code

Back at the end of May, we reported on a story about a malware threat to Mac users delivered via the popular DVD ripping software Handbrake. In that incident, hackers broke in to one of the download servers Handbrake used to serve installers to users. They replaced the genuine Mac installer with one that would drop a backdoor onto your machine, allowing the authors free reign to crawl through your data. The infected server was serving up this malware for four days, and now we know that it actually …

Apple Covers All the Bases with Over 100 Security Updates in May

In mid-May, while the world was waking up to deal with the chaos caused by the WannaCry ransomware spreading over the web, Apple was making its users safer again. Released on May 15th, a new set of patches dropped for iOS, macOS Sierra, and both the El Capitan and Yosemite version of OS X. So many different fixes were implemented that  it would be difficult to cover exactly what each of them accomplishes. However, of particular note in this update is the fact that ethical hackers previously identified more …

Darkweb Hackers Begin Offering Functional Mac Malware and Ransomware as a...

With the popularity of both ransomware and the creation of macOS malware on the rise with hackers, Apple users face a growing number of threats. It now appears that others have turned their attention to the creation of new malware to spy on Mac users — but these programmers have gone a step further. Rather than developing a tool and deploying it personally, they have taken to the dark web to offer their products for sale. Known respectively as MacSpy and MacRansom, the hackers provide the malware to users …

New Version of iOS Makes Quiet Changes to How Apps Use Your Location

At Apple’s annual WWDC event this year, the company made a host of big announcements. Chief among them was the unveiling of the next iteration of iOS, version 11. While they highlighted many of iOS 11’s new features during the conference, some other changes flew under the radar. One of those is a big tweak to the way apps on your phone can use your GPS location information. If you have ever used Uber, you may have encountered problems with its functionality if you’ve disabled location services. Uber is …

Apple Adds New Password Rules to Secure iCloud Accounts

iCloud users will soon need to abide by a new set of password requirements, put in place by Apple to fight against account breaches. In mid-May, Apple sent out a support email to iCloud customers, explaining the new requirements. The new requirements went into effect on June 15th.

The new policy concerns third party apps that need to access iCloud data to function. Such apps include Microsoft Outlook and other similar programs used for email, calendar management, and contacts. Apple will require app-specific passwords for such programs, instead …

Apple Reveals That Government Security Requests Are Becoming More Common

The government is getting more comfortable asking tech companies to hand over user data. At least, that’s the conclusion that you might draw after reading Apple’s recent “Report on Government and Private Party Requests for Customer Information” from the second half of 2016.

According to the report, Apple received about twice as many United States Government National Security Requests between July 1 and December 31, 2016, as it did from January 1 to June 30. In the first half of the year, Apple received 2,999 national security requests …

Siri Voice Command Bug Could Let Thieves Hide from Find My iPhone

The theft of smartphones is a large problem, especially with high-value items like iPhones. Whether a thief takes a phone to use or to resell, they’ll need to wipe the device first. Normally, the iPhone passcode and access control restrictions prevent that from happening. Meanwhile, a user can activate Find My iPhone to uncover its location or remotely wipe a device—a useful anti-theft mechanism, as it renders the phone useless to a thief intent on stealing your private information.

However, a freshly discovered bug in iOS versions 10.1 …

SecureMac Continues Pushing Mac Security Forward with Release of MacScan 3.1

Las Vegas, Nevada — With malware making headlines nearly every week, users everywhere wonder how to keep their computers safe. Today, SecureMac released the latest version of its flagship security software, MacScan 3.1. Since its initial release over a year ago, MacScan 3 has led the way with user-friendly and intuitive anti-malware protection. Its original support for OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion) through OS X 10.11 (El Capitan) has since been expanded to include the latest version of macOS 10.12 (Sierra). With last year’s emergence of the KeRanger ransomware …

Compromised Download Server Infects Handbrake Users with Malware

People with an extensive DVD or Blu-Ray collection can enjoy a wide variety of media at home, but what happens when you want to take it with you? The simple solution is to “rip” your favorite DVDs to create digital media files you can play back on your MacBook, or perhaps store on your home media server. Many Mac users dabble with this. Most people use the popular software, Handbrake, to digitize their media. Unfortunately, hackers recently compromised one of Handbrake’s download servers. For four days, an unknown quantity …

Uber Breaks Apple Rules by Fingerprinting iPhones After Deletion

Our phones today are home to dozens of apps providing both entertainment and utility. Each of these apps requests permissions from the system to access certain types of data. Apple makes it easy to see what apps use which permissions through the settings page on all iOS devices. However, how can you be sure that apps are playing by the rules?

According to a recent report by the New York Times, Uber recently landed itself in more hot water when Apple uncovered efforts to circumvent the App Store’s Terms …

New Malvertising Campaign Targets iOS Users with Data-Hoarding VPN

With the huge volume of ads displayed on sites across the Web today, it’s no surprise that bad actors view them as a window to reach vulnerable users. A new malvertising threat has appeared for iOS users. This time, it’s not about infecting your iOS devices directly — instead, it’s designed to coerce users into installing software that monitors and tracks their online activities. It does this by masquerading as a VPN, or virtual private network. VPNs are often useful for providing yourself with greater privacy protections while browsing …

Apple Releases iOS Update to Patch Wi-Fi Vulnerability

At the end of March, Apple released iOS 10.3 for users of the iPhone, iPad, and iPad Touch. The update was sizable, bringing multiple new features to iOS devices. However, just a week after iOS 10.3 arrived, Apple pushed out iOS 10.3.1. The latest update fixed a major Wi-Fi vulnerability that was apparently included in the original 10.3 update.

While the next big version update for the iOS platform—iOS 11—won’t arrive until the end of the summer or the beginning of the fall, iOS 10.3 was still seen as …

SecureMac Kicks Off Digital Spring Cleaning Season with PrivacyScan 1.9.3...

Las Vegas, Nevada, April 6, 2017 — Spring is here, and that means spring cleaning for many. To aid users in controlling their digital footprint and managing disk space, SecureMac has announced its newest update to PrivacyScan with version 1.9.3. This update to the award-winning application, designed to safeguard user privacy, delivers priority bug fixes along with several other improvements. User interface refinements yield simple and efficient operation easy for both beginners and advanced users. PrivacyScan 1.9.3 also provides enhanced cleaning for Google Chrome users, securely and efficiently removing private …

Competing Hackers Discover Method for Hijacking the Touch Bar

When Apple revealed its long-awaited refresh of the MacBook line last year, the Touch Bar was touted as a major selling point. By incorporating the same sensor technology already present in the iPhone, Apple said that a wide variety of new applications were available. From rapid online purchasing to using your fingerprint to unlock your Mac, it attracted plenty of attention. Apple even discussed its efforts to secure the Touch Bar, since protecting user biometric information and payment data is of obvious importance.

However, a recent hack of …

Checklist 30: What Happens When “The Cloud” Goes Bad

As helpful as the convenience of storing data in “the Cloud” can be, there are lots of examples of problems with cloud services causing disruption for individuals and for businesses. What happens when “the Cloud” goes bad? That’s our topic for this edition of The Checklist. We’ll look at problems you might encounter when using iCloud, as well as some of the broader issues with cloud computing in general.

Recent Google Issues Present Some Mac Users with Pop-Up Password Prompt

No one likes to contend with pop-up windows, no matter what the context. Once a mainstay of advertising on the web, pop-ups today mostly remain only on less refined websites. Many users also associate pop-up windows with malware infection — and that isn’t a wrong association to have, either. Often, malware will present you with a dialogue box that resembles a genuine system prompt. However, it could then lead you into installing more malicious software or exposing your personal information. However, it’s not always a sign that something is …

Checklist 29: Encrypted Chat Apps for Secure Messaging on iOS

Encryption is big news today for security professionals and regular users as well. As more and more people are concerning themselves with keeping their communication secret, a large number of encrypted messaging apps are hitting the scene. How do you pick one? And what do you need to know about them?